PARIS — Voters will decide Tuesday whether to approve an ordinance that would give residents the ability to recall elected officials.

The ordinance was drafted by the town’s policy and procedures committee after residents expressed concern that elected officials in the town cannot be removed before their terms are up.

Under the ordinance, a recall election could be implemented if a petition containing the signatures of at least 10 percent of the number of voters at the last gubernatorial election is presented to the town clerk for certification. The petition would also include the reason the residents are seeking removal of the official, and would be addressed to members of the Board of Selectmen “having no interest in the subject matter of the petition.”

The ordinance would require selectmen to order an election by secret ballot within two weeks of receiving a petition certified by the clerk, with the election taking place 30 to 60 days after the order. An election could also be held during a regular municipal election if one is taking place within 90 days of the order.

Officials subject to recall could request a hearing to be held a week or more before the election. An official would be immediately removed upon an affirmative vote for recall in the election, but would not be subject to another recall effort for at least six months if residents voted not to remove them.

School board directors and officials with less than four months in office or fewer than 60 days of a multi-year term remaining would not be subject to recall.

Supporters of the ordinance have said it is necessary due to a lack of other means of redress against elected officials. The Maine Municipal Officers manual allows officials to be removed by court order in serious cases or fined in cases of “severe dereliction of duty.”

Opponents of the recall ordinance have said the document does not specify the reasons an official may be removed or provide safeguards against the removal of an entire board.

The polls for the Paris election will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday at the fire station.

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